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The School of Music
1331 Rockville Pike
Rockville Md 20852
Phone: 301-340-1150

The School of Music is first and foremost a place for music education. Located in the Heart of Rockville, Maryland. We offer lessons for Violin, Viola, Cello, Piano, Voice, Guitar, Ukulele, Bass, Drums, Mandolin, Banjo, Harmonica, Accordion, Flute, Saxophone, Clarinet, and more.

We have the areas best teachers. They are instructors why a high level of education and experience. Many tour the world and have several record credits to their names. Please visit and contact us at:

Lots of things are considered symbols of America. Apple Pie, Baseball, Muscle Cars, and Rock and Roll. And if you’ll allow me to add one more to the list, I’d have to say the Electric Guitar. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that few things symbolize the freedom that we have here in the US more than what the Electric Guitar represents -the spirit of Rock and Roll. In the 1950’s Rock and Roll was born and it was no coincidence that the first mass produced Electric Guitar came into this world in 1950. And much like many a budding Guitar Player since then, it was the Electric Guitar that first truly sparked my interest in Music. But like many of us interested in this wonderful symbol of our Rock and Roll heritage, first learning about Electric Guitars was a bit confusing to me. What are the difference between the various styles of these Guitars? What does each kind sound like? What’s the best choice for the style of music I want to play? Here is the low down on the three most common and popular Electric Guitar body styles.

The Fender Telecaster: In 1950 Leo Fender revolutionized the world with the first mass produced, solid body Electric Guitar. Originally called the Broadcaster, it was renamed the Telecaster ( inspired by another new invention the “Tele” – vision ) due to patent issues. While it’s known as one of the more spartan Electric Guitars due to it’s simple, straight forward operation, it’s nonetheless a tried and true design (a lipstick pickup,a single coil pickup, tone, and volume controls). What’s really unique about the Telecaster however, is it’s bright, cutting tone often heard in country music, for which it is commonly known. It is however, quite a versatile instrument and can be heard in styles such as rock, blues, and jazz. To hear some of the masters of the Telecaster, check out Danny Gatton, Roy Buchanon, and Mike Stern.

The Fender Stratocaster: Four years later, in 1954, Fender introduced the Stratocaster and yet again changed the landscape of American Music. The new, contoured design supposedly influenced by 1950’s muscle cars, introduced some new features such as 3 single coil pickups, 2 tone controls, volume, and a vibrato bar. These new features spawned a whole new palette of sound which in turn influenced all kinds of popular music for years to come. It is perhaps for this reason that the Stratocaster is a bit more versatile than it’s predecessor, the Telecaster. To hear some of the finest music ever played on a “Strat” (as it is commonly known), check out Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Wayne Krantz, and Buddy Guy.

The Gibson Les Paul: In 1952, the Gibson Guitar Company issued forth it’s Les Paul model guitar. Named after the famous Jazz / Pop guitar player of the same name, the Les Paul featured a marked departure from Fenders Telecaster and later Stratocaster guitars. In both sound and design, the Les Paul was different. Here was now a guitar more reminiscent of Gibson’s earlier Jazz Guitar designs but with a solid body as well as 2 humbucking pickups, 2 tone controls, and 2 volume controls. The result is a darker, thicker sound with more sustain. And while it’s suitable for any kind of music, it’s often associated with hard rock, blues, and sometimes jazz. Prominent Les Paul players include Jimmy Page, Al Di Meola, Randy Rhoads, and of course, Les Paul.

Hopefully this all helps shed some light on at least the beginnings of what Electric Guitars are all about. And while there are many more derivatives of the three designs mentioned here, I think this represents a great deal of what’s typically used by people who love and play the Electric Guitar. I have to admit this article only scratches the surface of this subject but now it’s up to you to take it from here and do your own explorations. Go to your local Guitar shop and check them all out – see what speaks to you. Soon you’ll be on your way to creating your own new sounds and sonic explorations. Now what could be more American than that?! To learn more about how to play Electric Guitar, contact us.

I LOVEUkulele. No, I really mean it. And it’s a funny thing because I never thought I’d be interested in something so kitschy. Let’s face it, on the surface it appears that we’ve got a tiny guitar – like Christmas tree ornament with four strings. Simply utter the name Ukulele and images of Tiny Tim and Don Ho are conjured up in one’s mind – not exactly poster children for hip, modern and cool. Then why was the Ukulele one of the biggest growing imports from overseas this past year? Why is it being used on loads of new pop recordings by the likes of Train, Jason Mraz, and Eddie Vedder? Hmmm? So, what’s the Deal with Ukulele?

The Ukulele actually started it’s life as another instrument from Portugal, the Machete. It was first introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in the 19th century by Portuguese immigrants and slowly developed into the instrument we know today as the Ukulele. The Uke, as it is often called, eventually made it’s way to the United States and began appearing in Popular and Jazz music around the time of World War I. It quickly made it’s way into Tin Pan Alley / Vaudeville acts and was transformed into variant forms of the instrument such as the Banjo Ukulele to fit the idioms. In response to it’s popularity, instrument manufacturers such as Martin, Gibson, and Harmony all began to make Ukuleles on the mainland U.S. After World War II however, the popularity of the Ukulele began to wane, most likely as it was overshadowed by the emergence of the Guitar.

However, all was not lost for the little Guitar and in the 1990’s, production of Ukuleles began into increase as did it’s popularity. By the early 2000’s, the Ukulele was definitely on the up swing probably thanks to Native Hawaiian singer, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole and his now famous rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.Since then, many other brilliant Ukulele players began to emerge such as Jake Shimabukuro and Rob MacKillop, each bringing their own unique flair and influence to the instrument.

So what’s so cool about the Ukulele? Here are 4 reasons why I believe YOU need to check it out.

Range: While people often view the Ukulele as a limited, accompaniment instrument, it is capable of real beauty and intricate musical passages. In fact, it has a lot in common with the Baroque Guitar, as it has a similar kind of Re-entrant Tuning. The great news is that from Baroque Guitar Music, to Jazz, to just strumming away to your favorite song, the Ukulele can handle it all and handle it well.

Variety: The Ukulele actually comes in 4 sizes (starting from the smallest to the largest): Soprano, Concert, Tenor, and Baritone. While they all look and sound like Ukulele’s, they all have their own unique tone and characteristics.

Portability: For traveling with an instrument, it doesn’t get any easier than this. Occasionally, I have trouble with my Guitar not being able to travel with me on the plane, but never the Ukulele. It fits perfectly in the over head compartment of any plane and is easy to carry around ; even in it’s case, it weighs only a few pounds.

Timbre: Or tone of the Ukulele is unique with it’s Re-entrant tuning. This gives it a brighter, higher pitched sound within the texture of the various chords being played. Overall, most players would probably agree that the Ukulele basically has a sound similar to a higher pitched Classical Guitar. However, some Ukulele’s are tuned to tunings other than the standard C6 tuning. Some even have a Low G rather than a High G as it’s last string, opening up the sonic possibilities even further.

So there you have it, my low down on the amazing Ukulele. Whether you’re looking for a great first instrument for your kindergartner, are an adult looking to play Pop Songs for fun, or a Guitar Player looking for something new, the Ukulele has something for everyone. And, it’s probably one of the easiest instruments to pick up and learn.

Among most teachers of academia as well as privately, the study and training in proper rhythmic fluency and rigor is currently almost entirely neglected. Great artists are not affected in their early development as they are born with their rhythmic consciousness expanded; However, this state of affairs is to the detriment of the majority of aspirants who cannot ascend to the higher levels of improvisational mastery present in their heros given the current incomplete music education programs and to most private teachers neglect.

Contrary to the real world experience of a master, rhythm is not considered to be very important in contemporary music curriculums and harmony and scale theory are considered to be the foundation of music and musical education, when in the real world of improvisational mastery it is rhythm that is the foundation of all music. Without it there is diffuse amateurism and tentative grasping for coherence at best. The result is disappointingly powerless performances that do not inspire and audience in any genre.

Most dissect solos by Hendrix, Pat Martino, Coltrane, Holdsworth, Chick Corea, Clapton, Jack Bruce, Jaco Pastorius and other masters, but purely on a harmonic level and in a modal framework, atonal, polyphonic, etc… But there is no realization that it is the rhythmic variations and accents, as fundamental elements of phrasing, that give life, power, grace and transcendence to these masterpieces.

Most players cannot play in time for very long and improvise at the same time . That in itself reduces their power by 95%. Yet it is not even acknowledged by them in most cases, but an audience knows when it is missing and when it is there. A Coltrane or Dolphy or Michael Brecker solo exists in a state of timeless wonder only because they were both absolute masters of playing in time and using rhythmic variations very deliberately, with exalted fluency and superb control and spontaneity.

John Mclaughlin is explosively transcendental because the elements -seen by most as otherworldly- in his improvised language are held tightly in his finely honed dominion over rhythm and time signatures. Emerging master improviser Bryan Baker was forged into a musical colossus by his long and focussed study of the elements of rhythm. As a result he as ascended as a unique voice rather early in his career. Allan Holdsworth is admired for his melodic fluency and harmonic conception but nothing is said about his mastery of rhythmic fluency, where one finds the relentlessly hypnotic momentum behind his phenomenal legato and sometimes staccato phrasing.

It is high time in 2012 that music educators ad the missing link of absolute rhythmic study to their curriculums. If not the current situation will continue with only the very few born with rhythmic awareness going on to great musical expression and the great majority staying mired in frustration and imprisoned in mediocrity.

When I first started playing Guitar, I really had no sense for how to put chords together. I knew a handful of them and I knew which ones I liked, but I had no idea how to consistently put together a chord progression. Or analyze one for that matter. The problem only compounded itself as I became interested in Jazz and began learning chords like E7#9 and Cma7. I was totally lost. The good news is that you don’t have to be lost when it comes to understanding chords and their relationships to one another. There is a way to tie chords together into a concept called Diatonic Harmony and it begins with the Major Scale.

The Major Scale is a series of pitches, seven in all, that is the foundational building block of all Western Music. If we look at the C Major Scale for example, we see that it is made up of the notes C D E F G A B C. What makes the scale unique is it’s formula ; the distance between each of the pitches is either a whole step or a half step. All together, the formula for the Major Scale is: W W H W W W H (ie. C to D is a whole step, D to E is a whole step, E to F is a half step, etc). See the diagram below.

So, where is all of this going? Well, each one of these notes is the Root, of seven different three note chords called Triads. The process is simple. If we start with each note of the C Major Scale, we’ll get a chord starting from C, a chord starting from D, and so on. This process is called Harmonization and all we have to do is take each note of the C Major Scale and skip every other note in the scale. For example, the first chord we get is C and it is made up of the notes C E and G. The second chord is D minor and it’s made up of the notes D F and A. Get the idea? Check out the diagram below.

Play through the chords and see if you recognize any of the sounds and combination’s present within the Diatonic Harmony. Chances are that you’ll have a few moments where you find yourself saying, “Oh, so THAT’S what that is….”. The more of those the Fetter! Try playing the chords in order, backwards, in different sequences or plug them into an appropriate song. Have fun!

Have you ever tried to solo over a chord and it just didn’t sound right? I think we all have. Often times, it has to do with trying to fit a square peg into a round role type of situation. What I mean is that often the scales that we know and use are either the Major/Minor scale or some form of Pentatonic Scale. The problem is that while those are arguably the most important scales to learn, they don’t always fit in every situation. Here is where the concept of Chord Scales comes in handy.

If you’ve ever tried to jam over an F7 chord, you may have noticed that using the F major Scale doesn’t exactly work 100%. And there’s a good reason for this – one of the notes in the F major Scale doesn’t fit the chord F7. More specifically, if we break down a F7 chord we get four notes: F – A – C – Eb. In comparison, a breakdown of the F major Scale reveals seven notes: F – G – A – Bb – C – D – E – F. Notice the discrepancy? The F7 chord has an Eb and the F major Scale has an E. Now we could just avoid playing Eb and E altogether, but there’s another solution.

If we simply adjust the F major Scale so that it has an Eb rather than an E, our problem will be solved. And by doing this, we are essential playing an F Mixolydian Scale. The F Mixolydian Scale which is really derived from the Bb Major Scale is spelled: F – G – A – Bb – C – D – Eb – F. So, it’s a perfect candidate for our F7 jam.

Below is a diagram of the F Mixolydian Scale. Make sure to play it on the first fret as it is a movable shape and can be transposed to all 12 keys. For further explanation of this topic, click here. Otherwise, make sure to go over it with an instructor if possible and definitely spend as much time as you can learning the unique sound of the scale. Remember, being able to hear music is just as important as learning scale patterns on the neck of the Guitar! Have fun!

Tune in next week for the next installment of Have Guitar Will Travel.